Loyally Yours
by Krys Jericho
Summary: Three years before, Krys finally found the courage to leave Matt, and found love with his brother. After a series of 'accidents' that prelude the arrival of their first child together, will Matt stop at nothing to get back that which he wants the most?
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** _Loyally Yours_

**Author:** _Krys/ Kid Dynamo / THE Kid Hardy_

**Main Characters:** _Jeff Hardy, Krys Hardy (an Original Character), Matt Hardy, and others._

**Disclaimer:** _I own no one in this story that exists in real life. Krys is an original character of my own imagination and creation, therefore she is my property, as well as that of her (fictional) children. Contrary to popular belief, I do not own Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, anyone under the WWE umbrella, or anyone even remotely involved with the professional wrestling world. Believe me; if I really had control over either one of those beautiful men, they would never be allowed to leave my bed, but Vince, being the control-hungry meanie that he is, he won't let me have them. (Pouts). LMAO._

**Primary Summary:** _He drove her into the arms of his brother, and now he's paying for it. Does Matt want Krys back? And if so, at what cost?_

**Secondary Summary:** _Three years before, Matthew Moore Hardy finally pushed his beloved wife, Krys, too far, and she finally found the courage to leave him, seeking shelter and love in his brother Jeff's arms. After a series of unfortunate events that prelude the arrival of Jeff and Krys' first child together, Matt takes it upon himself to drive the two of them apart at any cost. In the final story in the "Yield to You" series, what lengths will Matt go to in order to get back the thing that he wants most?_

**Author's Note:** _Okay, so ever since I first wrote __**Yield to You**__ and its sequel, __**Forever, My Love**__, I've been thinking about doing a sequel, because well you know, things go well in threes, ha! And whenever I write a story involving one or both of the Hardyz as the main characters, there's almost always bound to be a trilogy (i.e. __**Bank on It**__,__** All or Nothing**__, and __**Against All Odds**__). So yeah, here's the start to the third and possibly final story to the "Yield to You" trilogy, so enjoy!_

_Also, at the time I had first written this chapter, Matt Hardy had just been released from his WWE contract for the second time (sniffles), while Jeff was already in TNA, so please bear that in mind._

* * *

><p><em>I love you, Krys. Whatever I said and did to hurt you so bad, I'm sorry. I never know when to stop. My anger kept taking over and I hurt you so many times. That's why you're like this. It's all my fault.<em>

_You deserve better, and I know it. As the doctor came over to us and said that you were sleeping, Jeff and Jodie and all our friends left out, but I didn't. I stayed. I said the words that I would always mean. I said them then, and I'll say them now. I love you. I'll always love you._

_As I gently kiss your lips, I see your sweet smile. Like the one that wouldn't leave your face on our wedding day (until you went into labor, that is). I remember. Do you? I remember how every few seconds we would kiss and dance, and how my dad automatically fell in love with you, just like I did._

_I don't think I stand a chance now. You're in love with Jeff. I know it. I drove you away. I drove you into his arms. My jealousy and stupidity drove you to him. It's only a matter of time before you leave me for him._

_I don't blame you for doing it, either. In fact, I even support you. I know that I might not stop my bad habits, but I don't have to take them out on you. That's why it'd be better if you leave._

_I gently kiss your sweet lips again, and that innocent smile returns to your face. Softly I say, "Leave, Krys. I don't deserve someone like you. Just go." And I leave the hospital and don't look back._

_**February, 2008**_

Matt Hardy glanced at his reflection in the hotel room mirror, and couldn't believe what he saw staring back at him. His eyes had a dark tint to them, and there were even darker circles underneath his eyes. _What the hell is wrong with me?_ he thought to himself, still staring in disbelief at the person staring back at him.

This wasn't him. Ever since he and Amy hooked up for real a few years back, everything had gone to shit, and he'd been miserable. Amy had seen how miserable she'd made him, and decided to go out and have an affair with one of his best friends in the entire WWE. Matt, being Matt, broadcast the entire thing out to everyone in the wrestling world, making himself public enemy number one in the eyes of many of their fans.

He smiled bitterly, trying to remember just what in the hell had attracted him to the pretty redhead in the first place. Maybe it was her rocker chick personality, or her rebel-without-a-cause attitude. Or maybe it had been the fact that she was forbidden fruit; the fact that she had been untouchable off-screen while he had been married to one of her friends had appealed to him. In his twisted little mind, he had figured that since they were a couple onscreen, that they should've continued their ministrations backstage. Besides, not many people outside of his little circle of friends had known that he had been married to Krys; hell, for all he knew, people thought the two of them had gotten engaged and then broke things off, he wasn't sure. And even if they had known, who would have really bothered to say anything?

_Krys._ Matt smiled wryly as he left the bathroom and went back to his bed, where some nameless ring rat that he had passed the night before with had just started to stir. Krys had been his ex-wife, and, by her own description, hell on earth. There was nothing wrong with her personally, but she just unintentionally caused trouble.

It had all started when Krys first started to date Shannon Moore back in WCW, long before she and Matt had ever met. When the WWE bought WCW out, Shannon was among the group of WCW talent that went over to the WWE, and took Krys with him. Instead of signing a contract with the WWE, she instead took an interest in singing, and joined Peroxwhy?gen as a backing vocalist along with Shannon and Matt's brother, Jeff.

Then, whenever Shannon would hang around with the guys after that, he would bring Krys around, and she eventually caught Matt's eye. Even back then, he'd had a taste for the forbidden fruit. He'd waited and played his cards right until Krys had discovered that Shannon had been cheating on her with a – surprise, surprise – ring rat, and opened his arms and his bed to her. Shannon accidentally walked in on the two of them while they were in the midst of sleeping off their passion, and immediately broke things off with Krys. A tearful Krys then told Matt that he'd do well to leave her alone and get away from her right then and there; otherwise she would cause trouble for him and make his life a living hell. Instead of heeding her warnings, Matt chose to stay with her, and now look what had happened to them. He'd given her three daughters, cheated on her, beat the living shit out of her, and raped her constantly.

All of this...all the terrible things he had done to her not only resulted in him losing his wife and daughters, but losing them to his own brother no less.

Kicking the rat out of his hotel room, Matt lay back down on the bed and propped his hands up behind his head. _I wonder what she's thinking of right now…_ he thought to himself. _Better yet, I wonder what would have happened if I had never let her go…_

* * *

><p>Krys raised her head from what she was doing, and shuddered as a chill ran down her spine. It hadn't been very long since she'd finally found the courage to walk away from Matt Hardy, and here she was, still missing him. Though she'd found all the love and security in the world in his brother Jeff's arms, she still couldn't help but feel a tinge of guilt whenever she saw Matt moping around his home.<p>

It hadn't been easy for her to do it, either. She'd stayed with him by his side through thick and thin, partially out of love, and partially out of fear. Even when he'd tried to kill her before, she'd decided to go back to him and try her hand at making things work again. It hadn't been long before he had reverted back to his old ways.

Almost feeling the sting of his hand connecting with her face in a vicious slap again, Krys automatically raised her left hand to her cheek, almost expecting to feel the familiar burn there once more. When she felt none, she closed her eyes and sighed in relief. _I can't believe it's been so long already…_ she thought to herself, sighing again as she wrung out the dishcloth and laid it on the edge of the sink to dry.

"Mommy, mommy!" The sound of her youngest daughter Jodie's voice ringing through her ears, Krys turned to face the energetic child. Jodie Marina Hardy was going on four years old, and had traits of both her father and her uncle. She was just as logical as her father was at his age, and had the outgoing and sometimes brooding personality and blooming creativity that her uncle Jeff possessed.

Krys grinned as she scooped the child up into her arms. "What's up, lovely? Shouldn't you be in bed?" She kissed the little girl's nose, and Jodie squealed in delight.

"Uncle Jeffy's home! He's outside now!"

"Well then let's go say hi to him, shall we?" Jodie bounced her dark pigtails energetically, and, laughing, Krys carried her out to the front door of the place they had come to call home.

As the black Jeep came to a stop not far from the house, the ignition was shut off, and the driver's side door was opened. Out stepped Jeff, his long hair dyed a mixture of red, blue and his natural blonde swept up in a ponytail, with a smile on his face. He dropped down to one knee and scooped up Jodie as she took off towards him, screaming with excitement. "Hey, kiddo, did you miss me?" he asked his niece, his green eyes lighting up with affection when she kissed him on the cheek.

Jodie bobbed her head. "Yes, uncle Jeffy," she said with a smile on her face. "But I think mommy missed you even more," she whispered in his ear, and the two of them automatically looked up to see Krys making her way down the stairs, a smile making its way across her face.

"Thanks for the tip, kid," Jeff whispered back. "Mind giving me a few minutes with your mom? I'll be inside in a few to tuck you and your sisters in." The little girl nodded, and he kissed her cheek before bending down to let her jump out of his arms. Jodie ran past her mother into the house, bid the two of them good night, and closed the door behind her.

Slowly, Krys stopped in front of her husband, then wrapped her arms around him. His arms came about her waist, and pulled her tight against his body. "It's been a while since I've been home," he whispered. "I missed you a lot."

"I know. I missed you too." Krys looked up into his jade green eyes, then stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips softly against his, in a gentle kiss. Her hands moved to his hair and pulled it out of its ponytail when he deepened the kiss, turning it from simply showing their affection for one another into showing their passion for one another.

Slowly, regretfully, Jeff pulled away, his expression almost pained. "As much as I'd love for this to continue," he said quietly, "I have a few nieces to tuck in. Don't go anywhere; I'll be right back." He winked at her before running up the stairs to the house and disappeared inside.

While Jeff was in the house, Krys took the time to walk around the yard, watching the sky get darker with each passing second. It still amazed her how different everything looked now that she wasn't a prisoner in her own home—well, Jeff's home. The home that he had so graciously opened up to his then-sister-in-law and nieces when she'd finally found the courage to run away from Matt the first time around.

She then turned around in time to see Jeff coming back out of the house, and a smile eased its way onto her face. "Miss me?" he drawled, giving her a halfway grin, taking her arms and wrapping them around his neck.

Krys smiled up at him. "You know I did," she whispered, letting him draw her closer to him. "Get down here, Hardy, and show me how much you missed me."

"With pleasure." His hands went to her hips, drawing her up against his body, which seemed tailor-made to fit against her own. His hands then traveled around to her backside, giving a firm squeeze as he lowered his mouth to brush against hers teasingly. As punishment for teasing her, she nipped his lower lip, causing him to swear softly. "You're trying to kill me, aren't you?"

"Nope, just trying to speed things up. So move it." With a chuckle, Jeff pressed his mouth against hers again, but this time lifted her up and wrapped her legs around his waist, showing her how eager he was to comply.

Somehow, the two of them ended up on the hood of Jeff's car. In a mess of tangled limbs, somehow they managed to free themselves of the clothing barring them from the contact they so desperately needed to feel from each other. Jeff wasted no time in slipping her shoes from her feet and her jeans from her slim body, his senses being lost in a midst of caresses and kisses as he nearly destroyed his Kikwear jeans trying to get them down to his ankles.

Finally, he eased himself into her slick warmth, and they both moaned in unison at the sensations running through them. Krys' hands found their way to Jeff's hair again, and she dug them into his hair, tangling her fingers in and pulling on the locks, her way of telling him that she liked what he was doing to her. Jeff withdrew and thrust again, going deeper than before, and Krys closed her eyes and moaned contentedly.

Matt had a dark look in his eyes as he heard the cries of ecstasy coming from the direction of Jeff's house. He had come over through the small patch of woods that he and Jeff had labeled their 'secret passageway' when they were children to talk to Krys about visiting their daughters over the weekend, and he had turned the corner to see his ex-wife and his brother going at it hard and heavy on the hood of Jeff's Jeep.

He could hear the wails coming from Krys, and they turned him on beyond belief. Knowing that he had been the very first one to make her scream like that… It gave him a thrill, and it brought a genuine smile to his face for the first time in God only knew how long. Before long, he had decided that he would be the last man she would make those noises for.

He then turned on his heel and started to walk back to his home, but stopped. The cries had turned into wails, and Matt couldn't resist taking a peek to see what his baby brother was doing to his bride. Hiding behind a tree, Matt poked his head out in time to see Jeff turn her over to take her from behind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

_(Krys' POV)_

(February 14th, 2008, 4:35 PM)

A few days later, just before Jeff was set to go back on the road with the WWE, he'd called a few of his friends down to our place for a small get-together. For some strange reason, for the past few days, I hadn't been feeling too well; I could hardly keep down any food, and anything resembling intimacy on my darlin' husband's part immediately turned me off. It sucked that I was turning Jeff away, because I loved him dearly and very much wanted to be with him, but for some reason, I couldn't explain what the hell was wrong with my body to make me act this way towards a man that had helped me so much and asked for so little in return.

As I stand there in the bathroom of my home, clad only in a pair of underwear and one of Jeff's tighter-fitting tank tops, I press a hand to my forehead, and feel how damp and hot it is to the touch. The near-sick expression on my face and the glowing tint to my skin automatically alarms me, setting me on edge. "Oh _no_," I whisper to myself quietly, noticing the dull look in my eyes, then rush to the bedroom to look at myself in the full-length mirror stashed in there. What I see delights and disturbs me at the same time.

My skin is literally glowing, the bronzed tint of my skin acting to heighten the glow radiating off of my body. Though my eyes are dull, the rest of me isn't; in fact, it seems as if my body had gotten a bit fuller, as well as gaining that strange glow…

My breasts have started becoming a bit fuller and a little more uncomfortable, though trust me, Jeff's had no complaints about _that_. My hips seemed to have gotten wider and a little fuller as well, and, strange as it may seem, my stomach seems to have firmed up a bit.

…

Oh, God. Tell me it isn't true.

I can't believe this!

Rushing back to my bedroom, where Jeff has gone back to sleep after picking up the girls from school and dropping them off to his dad's for an entire weekend of fun while we party, I grab a pair of fresh jeans and throw them on, followed quickly by a pair of Timberland boots (thank the lord Jeff and I dress so much alike), and an old flannel shirt that I button up halfway. As I hurriedly get dressed, I can hear my husband starting to stir behind me, and I hear his still half-asleep voice as he slurs my name.

"Krys?" he mutters, squinting his eyes through the bright sunlight that streams through the blinds. I turn around to face him, and the look of exhaustion on his face is immediately replaced by one of concern as he sits up. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I say quickly, turning my back to him once more and starting to lace up my Tims. "I have to go to the store for a few things; I should be back by the time you and the guys start getting everything ready."

"Krys…" he says again, this time sitting up even straighter in the bed and scooting out from under the blankets to the end of the bed to wrap his arms around me from behind. I sigh as I feel his arms enveloping around me, and I melt into him as I usually do, still amazed that I somehow managed to snag a man like this as my own, especially after all the bullshit we'd put each other through over the years, especially when it came to his own brother. "Talk to me, gorgeous. What's the problem?"

I sigh again, closing my eyes and leaning my head back against his chest. "I'm feeling hella strange, Jeff, and I don't know why, so I'm gonna go pick something up and see what the problem is."

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't been able to keep much of anything down the last few days, I feel like my tits are ready to explode right out of my bra, and to top it all off, it's driving me insane that you're trying to get some affection out of me, and I can't seem to give it to you. So…" Taking a deep breath, I decide to plunge right on in. "I'm going to get a pregnancy test."

As soon as the words escape my lips, I feel Jeff stiffen up behind me, and that's literally _not_ a good sign. I know my husband loves my daughters to death, and that, even though they're his nieces rather than his daughters, he treats them like they're his own children and loves them no matter what, but never once had we actually sat down and discussed the thought of the two of us actually having kids of our own. As far as I'd always known, Jeff had never really wanted children of his own, so the idea that I actually might be pregnant threw up red flags in my mind, and his reaction immediately put me even more on edge.

"Do you want me to drive you?" he asks softly, and I could tell he had a lot on his mind to contemplate, following my stupid little outburst. _Way to go, Krys_, I thought to myself, disgusted. _You're already getting paranoid about things, and you haven't even gotten the test yet. Idiot!_

"No, I should be fine. You really should get some more rest before Shannon, Kimo, and the rest of the Core Group come over." Though I didn't want to, I disentangled myself from his warm and comforting embrace, and moved away, grabbing my car keys up as I went.

I pretended not to hear him sigh as I walked out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

_(5:18 PM)_

I sit there in Jeff's truck, staring at the small, rectangular box in my hands. This box, so small in size, but held what I thought to be my very future in its plastic confines. Dramatic, I know, but let's be honest: I've always had a penchant for the dramatic side of things. Even when I was dating Shannon (which, when compared with everything that I've gone through these past few years, seems very tame indeed) before I messed around with Matt after discovering Shannon's dirty little fetish for ring rats, I'd been a dramatic little fuck. When I'd first gotten together with Matt after cheating on Shannon with him, I'd warned him that I was a pain in the ass to be around, and that I'd make his life miserable if he didn't save himself and walk away from me before it was too late.

Of course he didn't listen to me. Does anyone _ever_?

Slowly, I sighed, packed the box back in the plastic bag from the store, and got out of the truck, walking towards Jeff's house, almost as if I were a death row inmate, taking my last walk. Coming up the stairs and into the house, I am greeted by the sight of a group of guys hanging around Jeff, laughing and joking around. I wrap the bag tighter in my hands, and glance around as the laughter quiets down and everyone turns their attention to me.

I look around at the faces—Jeff in the center, surrounded by Matt on one side, Shannon on the other, and Shane, Kimo and others—staring back at me, and I wave. "What's up, guys?" I say as casually as possible.

As soon as his eyes land on me, Shannon scoffs. "Oh, God, Jeff, you're still with this girl?" he sighed, and my smile falters. "When are you going to see she's nothing but a gold digging little skank, who's only after you because you're famous?"

I roll my eyes at his last comment. Apparently, Shannon was still sore that I'd actually had the common sense to ditch him and move on with my life—something he's failed miserably at doing. "Oh, Shannon, it's good to see you again," I say, inclining my head to him in greeting, ignoring his jibe at me. "And it's also nice to see that you've managed to get over your little schoolgirl crush on me. How's your latest wife, by the way? What is she, number three, four?"

Shannon's eyes narrow, and he retorts, "Julie's fine, no thanks to you." He then gets a smug smile on his face. "I'm really happy with her, Krys. Happier than I've ever been with anyone, including you."

"Oh yeah, I can tell you're _really_ ecstatic about being with Julie," I say sarcastically, then shake my bangs out of my eyes. "Apparently being happy with Julie means that you're spending your entire marriage bitching about how much of a whore your ex-girlfriend is. You know, Shannon, I _really_ don't have time for your shit today. Maybe you can use that to bitch to your wife about; I'm sure she'd love to hear that you're still hung up over me, even though we've been done nearly eight years."

Shannon scowled, his green eyes snapping angrily. "You egotistical little—"

"Drop it, Shannon," came two men's voices, and my eyes drift towards the source of those sounds. Both Matt and Jeff were glaring at Shannon, and Shannon finally gathered up the brain cells to look embarrassed.

"Sorry guys, but really, you need to know that she's—"

"_Enough_, Shannon!" This time, it was Matt that cut in over Jeff's angry outburst. "Every time you take a shot at Krys, you take a shot at my daughters and Jeff's nieces, and I'm sure you don't want to get on either of our bad sides, right?"

His eyes were narrowed as they glared in Shannon's direction, and then Shannon's expression and demeanor changed from embarrassed to ashamed. "Sorry, man. Honestly, I'm not trying to disrespect you guys or your kids, Matt, but you know how I feel about Krys…"

"Fine, allow me to remove myself from your presence, since apparently me just walking through the door is enough to ruin your fucking day," I snap, finally having all I could take of Shannon and his shitty little attitude. He'd been talking shit about me and treating me like garbage ever since he'd caught me in Matt's bed all those years ago, and had never forgiven me for it. It was time to move on, already. Pathetic little shit.

Turning on my heel, I storm back out the door, and take a moment to sit on the stairs and cool myself down before I decided to go back inside and smash Shannon's head against the nearest surface. A moment later, the door opens, and I hear Jeff's voice as he came out to join me. "Sorry about that," he said softly, sitting behind me on the stairs and wrapping his arms around my shoulders. "He still can't accept the fact that you're a part of mine and Matt's lives."

"He still refuses to accept the fact that I've moved on from him and his shitty little attitude," I say back, crossing my arms across my chest as the chilly February air drifted around me, cooling my body down, lowering my temper. "He can't stand the fact that I've gotten over him and his little temper tantrums over what happened almost ten years ago. I tolerate it because he's yours and Matt's friends, and if it hadn't been for him, I would've never met Matt…or you, but seriously man, enough is enough."

I can hear Jeff rustling behind me in his pockets for something, and then I hear the flicking of his lighter as he lights up a cigarette and inhales on it. He keeps the smoke in his mouth for a few seconds, then releases it in a cloud of smoke. Leaning into his lap, I look up and watch the smoke dancing through the clouds, the smell of the nicotine filling my nostrils as I breathed in the familiar scent. I lick my lips, and Jeff finally passes the cigarette down to me, and I accept it gratefully, taking a long pull off the end and tasting the nicotine on my tongue.

"Don't worry about Shannon," he said finally, after we remained in that position in silence for a few minutes. "Obviously he's not getting over it any time soon, but I'll talk to him. You're right, enough's enough, and you've gone out of your way to be nice to him, and yet he still treats you like shit for being human."

"He was the one who cheated first, let's not forget that," I pointed out, taking another drag on the cigarette, before passing it back to Jeff. "If he hadn't cheated on me with that rat, I wouldn't have slept with Matt, simple as that."

"But then again," he breathed in my ear, making me shiver, "if he hadn't cheated on you with that rat, then you would never have had Jodie and her sisters…and I wouldn't have fallen for such an amazing, gorgeous woman."

With my head still in his lap, Jeff leans his head down and brushes his lips against mine, for the moment forgetting all about the cigarette in his hand. I return it, grateful for the distraction, and reach my fingers up to tangle them in his purple hair.

"Are you gonna be hanging out with us?" he whispered when we finally broke apart, and he took another drag off the cigarette.

"Nah, I'm gonna head over to your dad's place and check on the bugs. Knowing Jodie and how much of a daddy's girl she is, she's probably driving Gil up the walls because she misses you. And Ruby and Amy are probably gonna be bored silly, but they can entertain themselves looking at yours and Matt's old bedrooms, see how hard you boys had it growing up. And while I'm over there…I think I'm gonna use the pregnancy test while I'm there, see what the result is."

This time, I didn't feel Jeff stiffen up, but I could tell that there was some sort of change within him. He took another puff on the cigarette, then flicked it away into the dirt, before tapping my shoulders, indicating for me to move forward so that he could get to his feet. He stood up—I did as well—and Jeff wrapped his arms around me. "Whatever the outcome is on that test, Krys…" he whispered "…just remember, that I will love you and the girls no matter what."

"We really don't need to have any kids of our own, Jeff," I whispered back. "Maybe it's just a false alarm." I didn't know who I was trying to convince more, him or myself as I said the words.

"What false alarm?" came Matt's voice from the doorway, and Jeff and I turned to see him standing in front of the front door, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Jeff? Krys? What's the matter?"

I could feel Jeff stiffen up this time—given the past between the three of us, it wasn't without cause—but when I went to tell Matt about my possible pregnancy, Jeff spoke up instead. "Krys has been sick and generally not feeling too well for a little while, and she thinks that she might be pregnant. So she went to the store earlier to get a pregnancy test, just to be on the safe side."

Matt's eyes shifted to mine, and I could tell that for some reason, he wasn't happy about it. But he covered it up by shrugging his shoulders. "I hope that it gives you the outcome that you guys are hoping for," he said, before turning around and heading back into the house to rejoin the guys. As soon as the door closed behind him, I turned to Jeff and told him that I should get going to Gil's place to check on the girls.

"That's fine," he told me. "I'll walk you to the truck."

"It's only a few feet away," I protested. "I'm fine, Jeff, really. It's not that big a deal."

"It's a bigger deal than you think, Krys," he said softly, taking my hand and walking with me to his truck. Once I had opened the door, climbed in, and gunned the ignition, Jeff leaned in through the window and kissed me hard on the lips. "Come back to me soon, gorgeous."

"I will," I promised, "and I'll keep you updated too."

For a moment, we looked into each other's eyes, each one of us telling the other that we loved them. For some reason, ever since Jeff and I had hooked up, dated, and gotten married, we'd never felt the need to tell one another that we'd loved them. It was just something that went without saying, something that we each could tell without having to communicate it verbally. He knew how much I loved him, and I knew how much he loved me, and that was that. No sappy moments required.

He stroked my cheek once, then backed away so I could pull away from the house. As I pulled off, he raised his arm, waved once, and turned his back and walked back in the house.

As I turned onto the dirt road to head up to Gil's house, I glanced into my rearview mirror. Matt was still there, standing next to the door, his dark eyes watching my car as I drove away.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four:**

As Krys sped away in Jeff's truck towards his father's house, Matt turned around, fully intending on heading back into the house and back to his and his brother's little get-together. Instead, what he found was Shannon standing in front of the door, hands in his pockets, and his green eyes focused on the ground at his feet.

"I see you're still under her spell, too," he said sullenly, glaring down at his feet.

"What are you talking about, Shannon?" he asked quietly, frowning.

"I'm talking about Krys," he shot back, his eyes shooting up to glare at Matt's. "It pisses me off, knowing that you and Jeff are underneath her thumb. I mean, you've seen firsthand how she ruins lives, Matt, just by being around, and you guys are sitting there, defending her. I just…I don't get it, man." He ran a hand through his spiky blond Mohawk, scowling.

Matt's frown grew even more pronounced. "Shannon, I…" he then paused, thought a minute, and said, "Shannon, do you still _want_ Krys?"

Shannon's head shot up, and he glared at Matt defiantly. "Hell no, I don't want that slut back! I'm with Julie; why in the world would I give her up for the bitch who wouldn't put out for me, instead sleeping with my best friend behind his back, and later his brother too?"

"You want her because she put out for me and Jeff, but not you, right, Shann?" he pressed.

Shannon scowled again, his loathing evident. "I can't believe I'm saying this, to you of all people, but…yeah. I do. I mean, I hate myself for wanting her, Matt, I really do, especially after the way she fucked me over, dude. Come on, she even damn near cost us our friendship over her, because she messed around with you, for God's sake, and I still want her!"

"Believe me, Shann, I know the feeling," Matt said quietly, the familiar darkness returning to his eyes. "I know the feeling all too well. Unfortunately, there's something about Krys that I just can't put my finger on, but it just attracts us to her. You had her, I had her, and now Jeff has her, and I…I hate my brother for that. It's not his fault that he's under her little spell too, but…I want to liberate my brother from her, before she can taint him and bring him down into the gutter with the rest of us. I know I'm fucked for life; I was married to her, and we have three daughters. She's stuck with me for life; there's no way she can get me out of her system, and I can't get her out of mine. Believe me, Shann; we've been divorced just about three years, and not a day goes by that I don't think about her and what could have been, if I had only had the balls to keep her with me. But that's the problem; she's gotten too used to being free, Shann; Jeff's too lenient with her. When she was mine, _I _ran her life. _I _told her where to go and what to do, and everything was just fine. She's forgotten how strong a hold I have over her. If it wasn't for Jeff interfering so many damn times, she'd still be _my_ wife, pregnant with _my_ child."

Matt's eyes were that familiar dark, angry brown again, nearly darkened to black in their anger, and, even though Shannon had never seen Matt during the time he and Krys were alone with one another, he'd heard enough horror stories from Jeff to recognize when Matt was no longer Matt. He could see the subtle change in his demeanor; his voice got lower, his Southern accent more pronounced and husky, his eyes dark, cold, and angry. Everything about him nearly screamed that this Matt was not a Matt that Shannon wanted to piss off.

"Just…what are you saying, Matt? Are you saying that you're gonna try to steal Krys back from him?" he whispered urgently. "Think about this for a minute man. She's not worth it, Matt, she isn't. She's done nothing but bring pain and misery to your life, and it's only a matter of time before she does the same thing to Jeff! Do you really want to put yourself and your daughters through that?"

When Matt finally spoke again, his voice was low, cold, and dangerous, warning Shannon to keep his distance. "The only pain and misery Krys brought was upon herself. She wants me back, Shannon; I can see it in her eyes, and the way she moves and carries herself around me. I know her better than she knows herself; she won't even acknowledge the fact that she wants me back to herself until it's too late. And by that point, she'll be back in my life and back in my bed, and my brother will be out of sight, out of mind."

"Matt, bro—" Shannon protested, but Matt cut him off.

"Shannon, you said before that you never had a chance to fuck Krys before I got to her, right?" he asked quietly. Shannon immediately stiffened up and nodded a curt 'yes'. "Well, how would you like to get the chance to experience that sweet little cunt for yourself? If you join me, I'll make it worth your while."

"But Matt, she doesn't want me," he protested weakly. "You've seen how we are around each other; she can't stand me, and I despise her. I may want her back physically, but I'm not going to resort to rape in order to get some ass."

Suddenly, Matt was on Shannon, jerking him up against the side of the house, his dark eyes boring into his intently. "Shannon, who are you going to believe when it comes to getting what you want: your best friend, who has always had your back from the first day we fucking met, or the slut who fucked your best friend, cast you aside like a piece of shit on her shoe, and never looked back to see if she had hurt you or not? Trust me, Shannon; it's not what she says that you have to pay attention to, it's her body language. I can tell her what she wants and needs before she even forms the thoughts in her mind, I'm in her head that deep. If you do exactly what I say, Shannon, when I say it, then we won't have any problems, and you can get a crack at the pussy that got away. If you _don't_ do what I say, however…" His voice trailed off silently, and Shannon's eyes grew wide in surprise and fear, knowing that Matt could and would carry out his unspoken threat.

"So, do we have an understanding?"

Shannon carefully considered his options. He didn't want to _rape_ Krys, for God's sake, but he'd wanted to pay her back for cheating on him with one of his best friends and not showing a shred of remorse for her transgression. He wanted her to feel the pain he'd felt when he'd seen her in bed with Matt all those years ago, wanted her to experience what he'd felt, standing there, drowning in all his pain and misery upon seeing her and Matt together for so many years, watching her get pregnant time after time after time, and having to deal with the knowledge that everything that had happened to him was _her_ fault.

Slowly, Shannon brought his green eyes up to meet Matt's dark brown ones, and, silently, he nodded his head once in affirmation. "We have an understanding, Matt. But just promise me this, dude… Whatever you do to her…just don't hurt her, okay? I don't think my conscience could take it."

Matt actually threw back his head and laughed, clapping a hand on his friend's back, who cringed away from the older man. "Shannon, do me a favor, okay? Don't think, and whatever you do, don't you _dare_ grow a fucking conscience on me. If you join me with this, and you back out on me like a fucking coward, I'll ruin you." His voice was low again, and this time, even more dangerous. "I'll break you, I'll destroy you and everything you've ever worked for. I'll make sure precious Julie regrets the day she married you. I'll make sure your name is looked at with more malice than Chris Benoit's. If I go down, _you go down with me._ Understood?" Locking eyes with the other man once again, Shannon had no choice but to obey. "Good. Now, let's get back to the party."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five:**

(7:16 PM)

Sighing to myself for what seemed like the umpteenth time since this morning, I finally stand up and excuse myself from Gil's living room, citing the need to use the bathroom. Of course, I needed to use the bathroom, but not for the reasons that Gil thought.

I had to know. I just _had_ to know the truth.

Slowly, I climb the steps, leading to the second floor of the Hardy home. All along the walls as I ascend, I see photo after photo of the boys when they were young, back when Mrs. Ruby Moore Hardy was alive, and back when Gil was happiest. There was so much love shown in all of those family photos, it damn near made me lose my resolve in actually _wanting_ to know if I was pregnant or not.

I reach the top of the stairs and turn right, heading right to the bathroom, but an open door stops me before I could reach it. Jodie and Amy must have been exploring in the boys' old room again. Heading into the room, I see posters all over each and every wall in the bedroom. Pictures of Macho Man Randy Savage, posters of newspaper clippings about The Hardy Boyz making their way through the independent circuits, brightly colored pictures of Matt and Jeff as Jynx and Ignus Fatuus from their early days in the WWF lined the walls, bringing the sting of tears to my eyes. Just seeing these photos of the two of them, seeing them so happy and innocent and open with one another before I came around and tainted them with my presence, it made me want to cry. Turning myself away from the room before my resolve could weaken any more, I quietly walk out and close the door, pressing my forehead against it.

Downstairs, I hear the sounds of Gil laughing with my daughters, and the sounds brought a small smile to my face. Gil, bless his soul, he never once resented me or thought ill of me for what happened between me and Matt. He was always happy that his sons had been happy, had been fortunate enough to find someone to make them happy in life, and he was grateful to me for that much, as well as giving him some grandchildren to spoil rotten. Never once had I heard him speak a bad word about me, never once had he ever blamed me for the reason Matt had gotten so fucked up in the head in the first place (I know most parents would have done some fucked up shit like that, blaming their child's significant other for what happened to their child, instead of blaming their child's mental health, or even worse, their own ineptitude as parents), even though I had blamed myself hundreds of thousands of times.

Pushing my guilt to the back of my mind once again, I straighten myself up and continue on to the bathroom, where I quietly close the door behind me. Sighing, I pull out the stupid little pregnancy kit from my jacket pocket, and look at it. How could something so small affect me in so profound a way? It was ridiculous, to say the very least, but hell, it'll put my fears to rest, give me a solid answer as to whether or not I'm actually carrying Jeff Hardy's baby inside me.

After the longest ninety seconds of my life, in which I had to pass pacing the length of the small bathroom time and again until I nearly made myself dizzy, I nearly break my neck rushing over to the counter underneath the sink and the bathroom light. Holding it up underneath the light with trembling fingers, I look at the little test strip thing, I held my breath and looked at it.

A strip. A single pink strip. What the hell does _that_ shit mean?

Oh.

Pulling the box towards me and reading the directions, the knot in my stomach lessens.

I'm not pregnant.

The knot in my stomach knotted even tighter, damn near taking my breath away as the tears flooded my eyes.

_I'm not pregnant._

(2:03 AM)

Slowly, after letting Gil keep the girls over at his place for the night, I make my way back over to Jeff's place, where he and Matt are cleaning up. I'm so stuck in my own world that I don't even acknowledge Shannon scowling at me in greeting, instead just making my way over to Jeff, the tears that had threatened to engulf me earlier came back with a vengeance.

"Krys?" he asked urgently, rushing over to me and grabbing my shoulders frantically. "Krys, what's wrong?"

"Not pregnant," I whisper to him, not even bothering to acknowledge the fact that we weren't alone in his house. "I'm not pregnant."

I see the comprehension dawn in Jeff's eyes, and he takes me in his arms, as the tears finally start to fall.

(2:05 AM)

While Jeff comforted his wife, Matt and Shannon quietly excused themselves from the room, exiting out the front door.

Slowly, a twisted smirk made its way across Matt Hardy's face.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six:**

(Matt's POV)

(Two Weeks Later, March 3, 2008 – 8:30 AM)

Okay, so it's March, and the weather is starting to get slightly warmer. That also means that the guys are coming around more and more often, much more than I want them to. This doesn't necessarily piss me off, but it doesn't necessarily make me happy, either. I'm not happy because every single time they come over, I can't find a decent enough excuse to pull out of my ass in order to get them the hell out of here, so I can plot on the best way to get my girl away from my dumbass of a brother. What pisses me off even more was that, in all the time I was out recovering from my appendectomy surgery, I hadn't been able to come up with jack shit in the way of ideas for getting her back by my side.

It also hasn't helped matters that, during my long road to recovery, every time I saw Krys, she was either cuddled up with Jeff by her side, with our daughters so as to avoid spending time alone with me, or otherwise tempting me in some way, shape or form. Just yesterday, I had to lock myself in my room for a half hour, all because the bitch had gotten down on her hands and knees in front of me to get one of Lucas' chew toys from underneath the sofa. I'd gotten so hard so fast, that if our oldest daughter, Amy, hadn't been in the room so close to her mother, I'd have been on Krys' luscious ass in a heartbeat, burying my cock balls deep inside her sweetness and fucking her retarded.

One good thing has come out of this lack of creativity, though. While I haven't been able to come up with a good enough scheme to get Krys away from Jeff long enough to get her back under my thumb, I _have _been able to work out my frustrations physically. Instead of giving into my natural urges and fucking every single ring rat senseless that recognizes me, I've gone back to the gym and started working out. I started to get myself back in shape, and I have to say, my body's looking almost as good as it had before my appendix decided to go all faulty and retarded on me.

Yay for me.

Another good thing that's come out of this creative funk I've been in is that Shannon has come up with a few pretty good ideas in this little scheme of ours. I've got to say, even though Shannon's always been a bit of a pussy, he certainly is being pretty ballsy when it comes to this scheming thing. I guess he wants his ego to be redeemed and regain some of the balls he lost when Krys dumped him on his ass for me. Well, it serves the little fuck right for cheating on a perfectly good piece of ass with a stupid, mindless little slut who probably had herpes or some other undesirable STD. If memory serves me correctly, after Krys came running to me to get what she needed after Shannon cheated on her, I think Shannon _had _gone around itching for like a week before he finally got the smarts to go get a shot. Ha. Retarded little fuck. Well, once Krys is securely back where she belongs, I'll let him have a crack at her, _after_ I make sure the asshole is infection-free. I can't have the little shit coming around me, my dog, my property, or my daughters reeking of herpesyphilAIDS, after all.

Oh, great. The doorbell's ringing now. Must be Krys coming by to let me know that she dropped the girls off for school. Great, _now_ an idea is forming in my head! Ever since she found out that she wasn't carrying Jeff's baby like she'd thought she was, she'd been in this adorable little funk. Unfortunately for Jeff, that funk also affected her libido, which in turn sent his little sex romps on a downward spiral.

Poor baby.

Hm…I'm thinking maybe I should give Beth a call. Poor bitch hasn't been right since the day Jeff tossed her ass aside the minute Krys snapped her fingers, so she's had a bit of a chip on her shoulder ever since, and has a massive grudge against Krys. Wow, that sounds familiar. I guess it has something to do with the fact that there's something about Krys that makes all us North Carolina guys go all sex nuts and retard strong for her. Must be a Northerner thing; fuck if I know for sure.

Oh well, now she's here, and she's calling for me; all I have to do is get rid of the hard-on I just got from thinking about ramming myself deep inside that sweet, wet little twat, and then I'll be good to go. Down, Matty. Good boy.

Taking a deep breath to mentally prepare myself for the biggest challenge in my personal life to date, I steel myself to what I must do, and reach for the doorknob.

(8:35 AM)

(Krys' POV)

I can't believe I fucking overslept and damn near woke up right before eight o'clock on a fucking _Monday_ morning. Thank God Jeff was ready with money for the girls' lunches and snacks and shit like that, or else I would have sent myself into full panic attack frenzy. As it is, I'd been running around with a chicken with its head cut off ever since I woke up and realized what time it was, grabbing up a dirty pair of jeans, a pair of socks, while keeping on the shirt that I had slept in—one of Jeff's, naturally—and my lucky Tims, all the while shoving my tousled hair underneath a baseball cap so as not to show how much of a rat's nest it's turned into since I stopped caring about doing it in the mornings.

I streak down the steps, car keys in hand, and shrieking for Amy, Ruby, and Jodie to get in the car, and I crash into Jeff at the foot of the stairs. We tumble to the ground, and to my surprise, Jeff is chuckling with amusement, before he helps me to my feet.

"Are you okay, Krys?" he asks, pulling me up with ease. I can see the green sparkles in his gorgeous eyes, and I'm briefly caught up in them, before I remember why I crashed into him in the first place.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just running around like a fuckin' idiot trying to get the girls out to school on time."

"It's cool, Krys, don't even worry about all that. I gave them a few bucks each for lunch and a snack or two, and they're all already packed into the car and buckled up, waiting for you to drive them to school. All that's left for you to do is to take them off."

"Oh Jesus Christ, what did I ever do to deserve a great guy like you?" I whisper to myself, before wrapping my arms around him and kissing him tenderly. "You've been so amazing, Jeff; I really appreciate all this."

"It's not a big deal, Krys, it's totally cool," he laughs. "Just get going before they're late."

After giving my husband another kiss, I fly out to the car, strap myself in, and, after making sure the girls were all strapped in as well, I drive off, heading towards the schoolhouse.

On the way back, I notice that Matt's car is parked in front of his house, so I decide to drop by to let him know that I had dropped the girls off to school. After ringing the doorbell a few times out of politeness, my bossy side gets the better of me, and I fish out my old housekey, open the door and step in, calling for him.

"Matt? Matt, you in here?"

"Yeah, I'm here!" he called back. "I'm up in my room."

"On my way!" I jog up the stairs, then slowly come to a stop right before I reach the top stair. Running up these stairs like this triggers unpleasant memories…memories of me discovering his affair with Amy, me trying to walk out on him and his refusal to let me go, memories of trying to escape after the first time he ra...

Good God, I still can't bring myself to even _think_ the word, let alone say it aloud.

Even years after it happened, years after I finally found the strength inside of myself to leave him, I still can't believe that Matt ra…raped me.

As I'm standing at the second stair from the top of the landing, the door opens and out comes Matt, padding in his bare feet towards me, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and a wide grin. "Hey Krys, what's up?"

He comes to a stop in front of me, at the top of the stairs, and I'm stuck dumb by how incredibly gorgeous my ex-husband still is, after so long away from him. Truth be told, I've still held a soft spot in my heart for him, but due to the abuse that I've suffered for so long from him, combined with my love for his brother, I won't make the mistake of going back to him. There's no telling if he's completely healed from his "sickness" a few years back that finally tore us apart for good.

Our eyes lock, and I am assailed by memories of all the good times of our life together, and I lick my lips, my throat suddenly dry. Matt watches the motion, transfixed, but doesn't say anything to me. I finally clear my throat, and manage to stutter out, "Uh, I woke up late, but I managed to get the girls out to school on time. Luckily, Jeff was up and had them all ready to go by the time I woke up."

"That's great, Krys," he said to me, slowly descending down the stairs towards me, one step at a time. I lean against the wall casually, trying not to make it seem as if the very idea of having him close enough to touch me made me cringe. He went past me down the stairs, and I followed suit, following him through the house, past the things that had never changed since the last time I had run away from this house, into the kitchen, where I crossed my arms and lounged against the doorway, while he rummaged through the refrigerator. "What time did you get out?"

"A little after eight, but I made it there on time, so they should be fine," I answered back, watching him whip out a container of orange juice—pulp included; it was amazing that I still remembered these small things that should have been forgotten long ago—and pour himself a glass. "I almost freaked, but Jeff told me he'd had everything in hand, and that if I hadn't woken up soon, that he would have taken them to school himself."

"Yeah…I wouldn't exactly trust my brother behind the wheel of a car with my daughters in the backseat," Matt commented with a chuckle, before taking another gulp of juice. "Who knows if any of them would survive?"

I laugh weakly, then turn my head to the right to look at all the pictures that remained on the wall after so many years, then turn my gaze back to Matt, who was watching me in a peculiar way, almost as if he was thinking the same things that I had been thinking this entire time.

"Krys," he said suddenly, setting down his glass and standing to his feet. I turn my head to see him striding towards me, and I cringe inwardly, my mind instantly traveling back to those dark days whenever he would beat the shit out of me for the smallest things that defied whatever his will happened to be at any particular moment in time. He could see me start to shrink back against the wall and stopped dead in his tracks, a pained look crossing his face.

"Krys, I'm not like that anymore. You have no reason to be scared of me," he said back.

"I know that," I say back quietly, looking down to the ground, "but I just…can't get rid of the memories, and the pain. Whenever I look at you whenever you're in a particular mood…my mind just transports me back to those days. I know it has nothing to do with you, but it just…frustrates me, because Jeff's been so good to me, and you've been so good to me after everything that we've been through, but I just can't get rid of them, no matter how much I try to tell myself that you're cured of your sickness."

As soon as I said the word "sickness", the oddest look crossed Matt's face, almost as if he wanted to smirk, but couldn't. Instead, he nodded his head in understanding, keeping his distance. "Don't worry about it, Krys. These things take time. Trust me, you're doing just fine. And as for me…you don't have to worry about me, Krys."

"But that's the problem, Matt. I do have to. You're—you were my husband. We had a whole life together, and just because we had some bad spots doesn't change the way I felt about you. You gave me some of the best years of my life, and we have three wonderful daughters; of course I'm going to worry about you, Matt."

I then walk over and rest my hand on his cheek, and he closes his eyes contentedly and leans into my touch, and even though it feels wrong to do, I can't seem to pull myself away. Matt then opens his eyes, and our eyes connect…and before I know what's happening, that's when he takes my hand, and pulls me into a kiss.

And, God help me, I returned it.

Deep down, I know that I shouldn't be kissing my ex-husband like this, especially when my current husband—his brother—is close by, close enough to walk by and notice what we're doing.

This is wrong. Very, very wrong.

But it feels so good to have his arms around me again…

"Matt…" I whimper against his lips, but he pulls me in closer to his body. I feel how aroused he is already just from one kiss, and it damn near terrifies me. Images flood through my head of his hand drawing back to strike my face; memories of my face hitting the top stair after he tackled me as I tried to run away from him; flashbacks of him ripping my shirt in two just to get it off of my body while I tried in vain to fight him off of me, the last memory of him forcing my legs apart, while I, teetering between consciousness and the sweet oblivion of unconsciousness, begged him to stop now before things went too far…

And then I tensed up, freezing as Matt continued to kiss me.

Sensing my sudden tensing up on him, Matt broke the kiss and looked at me, and suddenly, his image starts blurring in front of me. Before my mind can catch up to the rest of my body, Matt is embracing me in a hug, trying to shush and comfort me. And then I realized that I was crying, sobbing uncontrollably, huddling and retreating back into myself as I had done so many times before.

"Krys, Krys, please don't cry," Matt said gently, rubbing my shoulders, trying to bring me back from out of the nightmare that was currently reviving itself inside my mind, trying to claw and slash its way back to the surface, despite the walls and barriers that I had carefully tried to erect over the years that Matt and I had been apart. "I didn't mean to touch you like that, Krys; I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," I tried to say through the tears, but my chattering teeth wouldn't let me get the words out correctly. Matt finally managed to ease me into a chair, where I curled my legs up and wrapped my arms around them, staring blankly into space as the tears silently streaked their way down my face. "I'm sorry," I whisper quietly, my eyes focused on the floor, though my attention was far from paying attention to the patterns of the tile.

"Krys, don't be ridiculous," he said back, bending down in front of me. "It was all on me. I shouldn't have done that when you obviously weren't ready. Do you want me to call Jeff and have him drive you back home?"

I shake my head violently, standing to my feet despite the fact that I can hardly see straight, let alone stand on my own two feet and walk outside to my husband's car and drive home. "No, no, I-I'm fine, I'll be fine," I say shakily. "You don't need to call Jeff; he needs to get ready to head out to the airport and catch his flight."

"Krys, Jeff doesn't even have to be at the arena until later in the afternoon, you know that," Matt answered back, trying to ease me back into the chair despite my protests. "Seriously, just sit down, and I'll call Jeff to pick you up; you're not in any condition to drive anywhere."

"He doesn't have _time_, Matt; he has to be at the arena to get the results of that drug-testing thing they did a few days ago. He was told by Vince himself that if he wasn't clean before WrestleMania that he'd lose his spot in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, AND lose his push. He doesn't need to add me being neurotic and freaking out over something so stupid like this to his already growing list of things to worry about." Ignoring his protests and insistence that I let him call Jeff to pick me up, I then stand up on my legs, and thank the Lord and Lady above that they weren't shaking this time. "Really, Matt, I'm fine now. Don't worry about it. I'm gonna go back to bed as soon as I get back home anyway; I think I really need the rest."

"Are you sure you don't want me to call Jeff? I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"Yeah, he wouldn't mind, but _I _would. Seriously, Matt, it's not that big a deal. I needed a good cry, anyway. It gets all my frustrations out. Seriously, it's only a little bit across the way back to Jeff's place; don't worry so much."

Even though he still didn't look convinced, Matt nodded his head and followed me out to my car, where I climbed in, strapped myself in, and gunned the engine before pulling off.

(9:27 AM)

(Matt's POV)

_Perfect,_ Matt thought with a sly, devious smile as he watched Krys drive off back to Jeff's place. _Everything's going to plan._ He then turned on his heel and walked back into his house, and pulled out his cell phone to dial Beth's number.

"Hey Beth, it's Matt. Sorry to call so early in the morning, but I was just wondering…how'd that thing with the piss test go?"

_Time for the games to begin._


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven:**

(Same Day, 9:35 AM)

(Krys' POV)

Jeff can immediately sense that something's wrong the minute I step foot into the house, and he's by my side before I can close the door, wrapping an arm around me and asking what was wrong.

"Nothing," I told him over and over again, chalking it all up to the fact that I was tired as hell. Eventually, he got the hint that I didn't want to talk about it, and helped me to our room, where I proceeded to flop ungracefully onto the mattresses and roll over onto my stomach, burying my face into the pillow. While I'm busy trying to deprive myself of enough oxygen to pass out for a few hours, Jeff busies himself with grabbing up all the clothes that look clean from the floor and tossing them into his suitcase.

"Krys?" he asks quietly, once he can take the silence no longer.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmph?"

"I have a question for ya."

"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhooph."

He chuckled once, then turned around and sat down on the edge of the bed. I squirmed around so that I could face him and hear him better, as well as get a little bit of air—after all, I wanted to pass out, not suffocate myself. He then lays down next to me in the bed, and I roll over to adjust myself so that my head is laying on his chest.

"Are you sure you're not pregnant after all?"

"I highly doubt it."

"I know, but it's just…you've been acting really weird ever since that whole pregnancy test result thing happened, and to be honest, you're scaring the hell out of me. I'm not so sure I should go on the road for a week with you here by yourself."

"I won't be by myself," I protested. "The girls will be here with me. Plus, if I get too lonely, I could always call my mother. I'm sure she wouldn't mind taking a flight down here to visit her granddaughters."

"I know…I'm just concerned about you, baby. That's all. This whole thing about a baby and all, it has you so rattled, and it's worrying the living hell out of me because it's affecting you so much. You know we don't need a baby to make our lives complete. I'm perfectly happy with you and the girls; you're all the family I need."

"I know," I mumble drowsily, burying my face into his chest, then, cursing out loud at what I knew I was going to have to do eventually, I sit up and shake my hair out of my eyes. I don't exactly want to do it, because I don't want to make it seem like I'm snitching on Matt like we're in middle school or something, but I also don't want myself feeling more conflicted and upset than I am right now. Jeff looked at me, concern filling those beautiful green eyes of his.

"Krys?"

"Matt kissed me, Jeff."

(Jeff's POV)

"Matt kissed me, Jeff."

The words ran through my head like a mantra, constantly repeating itself over and over, until the images burned their way into my retinas.

Matt kissed my wife. Matt kissed _my wife_.

Although I know I should feel more upset than I do, angry enough to want to beat the shit out of him, even…I can't. Don't get me wrong, I'm plenty upset, but it just doesn't strike up the urge to want to maim my brother for putting his paws on Krys. Sure, Krys is my wife and I love her to death, and positively adore my nieces-turned-stepdaughters, but Matt's my blood. I don't want to hurt my brother for what he did. Maybe his sickness is back. Maybe he just can't help himself sometimes, because honestly, Krys is utterly fuckable when she's not suffering from some sort of self-induced depression. She's the most sensual and beautifully desirable woman I've ever met in my life, a woman that stimulates me mentally and emotionally as well as physically and artistically. She's the type of woman who can match words and phrases to my paintings. She attracted me from the very first moment I saw her, despite the fact that I'd pegged her as a stupid, cock-hungry thundercunt and a slut who'd cheated on Shannon with Matt who merely upgraded from one rich man to another. Most of that had been due to Shannon poisoning me against her, giving me only his side of the story, playing the victim card to a T, making me resent her when I really didn't know everything that had gone down between the two of them, and what led her to cheat on him in the first place.

It took her marrying my brother for me to see that I really had something for her. Something bad.

I hadn't wanted to believe that my brother had done all those horrible things to her, beating her and raping her when there was nobody home but the two of them. I couldn't believe it when she'd told me, and it took her having to show me her bruises and explain to me in graphic detail about how he'd slapped her face and ripped her clothes off, before forcing her legs apart and violently raping her before she'd passed out from the trauma of it all. She hadn't wanted my pity; she'd needed my help. Even though she wasn't hysterical trying to get me to believe her, I could tell there had been a certain sense of desperation when she'd dialed my number. Even as I'd held her in my arms to comfort her while she cried after telling me about him raping her, I could tell she needed my help, because I was her only hope of getting out alive. She knew he wouldn't let her go while she was alive, and that was what finally scared her into leaving him. He had never laid a hand on their children, to his credit, but he'd always taken out his frustrations on her. And she had finally turned to me to help her.

That last night… I can still remember it so vividly, because it'll forever be burned into my memory so long as I live. Krys had gone to answer the door, briefly forgetting that I had warned her not to, but by the time I had ran down to yell at her not to open the door, it had been too late, and Matt had already had his hands around her throat, choking her out. If it hadn't been for me jumping on him, my brother would more than likely have killed the mother of his children…and me, too.

Never before in my life would I have thought that Matthew Moore Hardy, my own flesh and blood, would pull a gun on me and threaten to kill me for trying to save his wife. The woman I loved.

In that instant, I became angry at Matt. Red dots literally clouded my vision. Krys must have seen it in my expression or felt the anger coming from me, because she shrunk away from me, possibly afraid that I would take out my anger on her the way Matt used to. The gesture was enough to clear the red from my vision, and I look over at her. "I'm not Matt, Krys," I said quietly, and I see her visibly relax. "I would never put my hands on you, intentionally or not."

"I know you wouldn't," she says back, biting down on her lip. "I hate myself for being the cause of the problems between you and Matt."

"Stop that right now. You're not the cause of anything. If anyone is to blame in all this, it's Matt for not being able to control himself. I don't blame you for anything, Krys." I then kissed her forehead. "Try and get some more sleep. Do you want me to lay here with you until I have to go?"

"Please?" I answer her question wordlessly, gathering her close to me and laying down with her. She sighs contentedly and rolls onto her other side, so that I was spooning her. I wrap my arms tightly around her waist, giving her light kisses along her face and arms until she falls asleep.

There we remained until I had no choice but to hurry my ass up and leave before I miss my flight out to the next stop for RAW.

But trust me, the next time I get home, Matt and I are going to have a serious talk.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight:**

(Jeff's POV)

"Jeff, I'm really sorry to have to do this…but you're suspended for sixty days, effective as of March eleventh."

The surprise that I felt coursing through my body was nothing compared to the shock that was currently taking hold of me. How could I have gotten suspended for violating the company's Wellness Policy? I'd been warned nearly every single day since signing my contract back in '06 what the consequences would be if I screwed up again, and they found more shit in my system.

This wasn't me. Sure, I've smoked some cigarettes, and me, Matt and the guys would smoke some weed or some shit like that every once in a while whenever one of us would throw a party when we were home, but never on the road. Honest to God, I've never had anything stronger than weed in my system since I came back to the WWE.

"Are you still there, Jeff?" Vince's powerful, authoritative voice breaks me out of my thoughts, and I nod dumbly. Then, remembering that I was on the phone and that he couldn't see me, I reply that, yes, I was still on the line, and that I had heard everything that he had just told me.

"Honestly, Vince, I don't know how this could have happened. I swear to God, I haven't gone back to that shit. You know how serious I was this time around when I signed that contract to come back; you know how bad I felt after screwing up the first time and getting suspended; you _know_ I wouldn't screw my chances up with you and the company like this."

"I don't know what to tell you, Jeff. My hands are tied. Facts are facts; the urine sample tested positive for a foreign substance…and, well, given your prior reputation with foreign substances, well… We think it might be best for you if you just stayed home for those sixty days, Jeff. It'll give you time to relax, you can use the time to heal your body back up, and we'll keep in touch with you every day, just to check in and see how things are going with you…"

As Vince continued on in that businesslike tone, I tuned him out again, thinking what I'm going to do for sixty days. In all honesty, two months off from sleeping in a different hotel room every night, sixty days off from busting my ass and injuring every part of my body just to please the fans would do me good, like Vince said. That, and it would give me a chance to spend more time with Krys and the girls…

And talk to Matt, like I'd intended to do as soon as I got back.

It just didn't add up. How in the hell did something illegal show up in my system? It couldn't have been weed; smoking that wouldn't violate the Policy, but it would end up costing a pretty penny if it showed up in my system. But I hadn't been smoking any of that, or doing anything other than smoking the occasional cigarette. This is beyond retarded.

Something was very wrong. I just didn't get it.

…And then, it dawned on me.

Somebody wanted to ruin my career on purpose. One more violation, and I'm out of the company again. Who the hell would do this to me? Who would have this huge a grudge against me, that they would try to kill my career just as it's finally starting to get set right again? Who in the hell could be such a jealous, heartless piece of shit?

As I'm lost in my thoughts, getting caught up in my anger and my shock, I nearly had a heart attack when I felt Jericho slap me on the shoulder. "Hey there Hardy; you ready to let go of that title?" he asked me with a silly grin on his face. He then straightened himself up when I grimaced at him, and then continued with, "I just want you to know, man, that even though you're losing your championship to me, that you don't need to worry; you can take comfort in the fact that the title will be defended by the man who is the best in the world at what he does, the Ayatollah of Rock n' Rolla—"

"Ha ha, Jericho," I mutter underneath my breath, giving him the finger, a gesture which only made him smirk knowingly at me. Hearing Stephanie yell out that the show was about to go live, I began shaking my hands and rolling the tension out of my shoulders. "Alright man, let's do this."

(Same night, approximately 9:30 PM EST)

(Krys' POV)

Just as I settle in with Jodie to watch RAW—Ruby and Amy were off somewhere doing Gods know whatever kids do at their age in their room, which gave Jodie and me plenty of time to bond with our favorite Hardy—the two of us see the announcement that Jeff was facing Jericho later in the night as a result of their fight the week before on the Highlight Reel, with Jeff's Intercontinental Championship on the line.

"What the hell?" I nearly shout, shooting out of my seat and shooting Goobers all over the sofa and into Jodie's hair, surprising the hell out of my daughter. "Mama didn't mean that, baby," I told her, as I bent down to pluck the chocolate-covered peanuts out of her locks, "I mean honestly, you look cute with chocolate in your hair, but really, I don't want to have to be the one to wash that crap out…not to mention your dad and Uncle Jeffy will have my head on a platter if I ever let you walk around them with Goobers in your hair."

The kid definitely took after her uncle in the weird department. But then again, that was one of the many reasons why I loved him so much.

After finally getting all the candy out of Jodie's hair before it could melt and stick in her scalp, we finally settled back down to watch TV, just as the ring announcer shouts out that the Intercontinental Championship match was about to start, there was a knock at the door. "Who in the world can that be at this hour?" I question, leaving Jodie on the sofa to get up and walk to the door. As soon as I pull the front door open, my heart shoots up into my throat.

"I heard through the grapevine that Jeff was defending his title against Jericho tonight," came Matt's smooth voice from the doorway. "I thought I'd join you guys and watch the show…as a family."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine:**

(11:20 PM EST)

(Krys' POV)

The air is so thick that you wouldn't even be able to cut the tension with a double-bladed katana.

Having Matt sitting so close to me after what he'd tried to pull before Jeff went back out on the road earlier was enough to keep me on the other end of the sofa, with my legs crossed at the ankles, tapping impatiently and nervously against the floor.

Jodie, being the completely oblivious child that she was, didn't take notice that her mother suddenly placed her in between myself and her father, or that her mother was now dead silent and keeping her attention focused directly on the TV and nothing else. I even kept quiet as Jeff had his shoulders pinned to the mat by Jericho, losing the Intercontinental Championship that he had loved holding. At one point, I even though that I had spotted Matt smirking to himself out of the corner of my eye, but as I glanced at him a split second later, the smirk was gone from his face, almost as if it had never even been there to begin with.

As RAW went off the air, I leaped to my feet a little too eagerly, taking both my daughter and her father by surprise. "Okay kiddo, you know the drill; time for bed," I announced. I then cringed, realizing that my voice was a little bit high-pitched from the nervousness that I had been feeling ever since Matt knocked on Jeff's door and let himself in.

"That's okay, Krys; I can tuck her in," Matt said. When I started to protest, he cut me off, saying, "It's been a while since I've been able to put any of the girls to bed. Amy and Ruby are eight years old now and constantly acting off all on their own, and the only one I have left to still play daddy's little girl is Jodie. You're not gonna deny me that, are ya, Krys?"

In order to reinforce Matt's point—and prove to me that she was a traitor—Jodie hit me with those chocolate brown eyes of hers and whined, "_Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease_, mommy?"

The traitorous little brat had turned her back on me!

And just like that, I was stuck. Grumbling under my breath about ways to punish my daughter for using the charm that she'd obviously inherited from her father to conspire against me, I let her have her way. The little turncoat launched herself off the sofa and into her father's arms before I'd had the chance to finish giving my okay, which made me grit my teeth even further. "You're gonna be the death of me, you little brat," I groused, turning around and stomping upstairs to pull her covers back for her, and to prepare a bath for myself.

(Matt's POV)

I could always count on my little Jodie to have my back for me.

As Krys stomped up the stairs, obviously not in a very happy mood because our youngest child had chosen quality time with her daddy over being tucked in by her momma, I grinned down at Jodie. From somewhere underneath that mass of dark curls, a bright smile emerged back at me, and I felt slightly less guilty about using my daughter to play with Krys' head.

I drop down onto my knees as best as I can with my "Jimmy Legs" and look Jodie right in the eyes. "Hey kiddo, do you want to watch a movie before I tuck you in?" Jodie nodded her head energetically—I still don't know where the hell this kid got all her energy from, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't either myself or Krys. "What movie do you want me to read to you?"

"'The Little Mermaid'!" she squealed excitedly, getting that huge, beaming smile to her face that reminds me so much of her mother. For a moment, I'm so dazzled by the beautiful little girl standing in front of me and how much she looks like Krys, that I don't notice Krys coming back down the stairs until she clears her throat.

"It's too late for her to watch a movie," she says quietly, and Jodie pouts.

"But _mom_, it's _Awwwwwwwwwiel_!" she whines in that pathetically cute voice of hers. Sighing, Krys throws her hands up in frustration and goes back upstairs, telling me to "feel free to do whatever the hell I wanted with the turncoat runt".

Perfect.

With a perfectly innocent smile on my face, I turn back to Jodie, who stares back at me with a glowing face full of love. "Okay, kiddo, you ready to watch Ariel?" I ask, scooping her up into my arms and standing to my feet.

"YEAH!" she squealed.

"Then let's go!" With that, I zoom through the house with my daughter giggling maniacally on my shoulders before heading into her room to put on some Disney.

(2:02 AM)

(Krys' POV)

After hanging up the phone with Jeff, who somberly informs me that he'd been suspended by the company for violating the Wellness Policy for the second time—though he swears somebody screwed with his test sample—I leave my bedroom, just in time to see Matt emerging from Jodie's room, closing the door softly behind him.

"She's finally asleep," he whispered to me, motioning for me to remain quiet. I roll my eyes at him.

"I know how to keep quiet when the girls are asleep," I retort huffily, moving past him into the living room and plopping myself down on the sofa, only growing more agitated and uncomfortable when Matt seats himself down next to me as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do. "Which reminds me…now that Jodie's asleep and the twins are spending the night at your dad's house, you really should go," I say to him in the firmest voice I could muster.

Matt pretends as if he didn't hear a word I had just said. "You always did know how to keep quiet when the girls were sleeping…" he said quietly, his voice suddenly dropping down a few octaves "…or when we didn't want anyone to disturb us."

Was it suddenly getting uncomfortably hot in here, or was it just me because Matt was getting too close? I jump to my feet, intending to move into the kitchen, but apparently Matt's skills as a wrestler made him a tad bit faster than I was, because the next thing I knew, I was back on the sofa, with no idea how I had gotten there so quickly, and my mouth was suddenly being invaded by Matt's tongue.

"Matt, no…" I try to gasp out between breaths, but I should have known from past experience that "no" simply wasn't enough when it came to Matt. "Matt, stop!"

I push him away, but that only deters him for so long from one specific path. The next thing I know, he's no longer kissing me, but he's kissing my neck and running the pad of his thumb over one of my breasts, and it ceases to feel uncomfortable, and begins to feel good.

A breathy moan escapes my lips, and Matt takes that as encouragement to continue. Being the torturous bastard that I've known him to be, he dips his head down to lick at my breast with his tongue, an action that has me aching with need and hissing my approval. Clearly, even though my mind doesn't want this at all, my body is still having trouble playing catch-up, because it's still responding all too eagerly to his actions.

While he's licking and sucking on one breast, he's using his right hand to pinch and pluck and roll and knead my other breast, all the while grinding his hips between my legs. I can feel how aroused he's getting, and it's turning me on as much as it's scaring me.

I don't want this, I _don't_… Holy God, he just sank his teeth into my nipple, something that has always turned me on, and just like that, I'm arching myself up against him, only seconds away from giving into the temptation that he wants me to drown myself in…

I can see the triumphant look in his eyes before I start to kiss him back, wrapping my legs around his waist to draw him in even closer. "Matt…" I whimper softly, digging my nails into his shoulders.

"Tell me what you want, Krys," he snarled down at me, the gentleness gone from his face and replaced by a dark and seductive being that knew exactly what he was doing. I could feel the desire pooling between my legs at the dark look he was giving me, and I could feel my resolve starting to wane again. "Tell me what you want, and I'll give it to you. I'll give you everything…"

"Matt…" It was enough to make me want to give in to what we both wanted, but deep down, part of me was screaming for Jeff.

All of a sudden, I was seeing clearly again. The haze of lust that had been clouding my eyes suddenly disappeared, and in its place, I finally saw what I was about to do.

My eyes widened in horror, and I shoved Matt away from me with a sudden burst of strength that I hadn't known I'd possessed within my body when it came to my ex-husband.

"Krys?" he questioned, looking at me in confusion as I leapt to my feet and backed away from him.

"You need to go, Matt," I said with a shaking voice. I then raised a hand—that was shaking, too—and pointed at the door. "Now."

Matt slowly stood to his feet, looking confused as he started to walk towards me. "Krys…"

"I won't ask again." I took a step back.

Sighing, Matt nodded his head and turned towards the door. "I'll go, if that's what you want." I didn't answer; hell, I couldn't even look at the man after what had nearly just happened between the two of us. "Good night, Krys."

The door closed behind him as he left, and finally the adrenaline that had been running through my veins drained out of me in one swift motion, and my knees went out from underneath me as I collapsed to the floor in shock.

How could I do that? How could I almost cheat on the man I loved with all my heart, with his own _brother_ of all people, the man who had beaten and raped me countless times during our marriage? God above, how could I still be _attracted_ to that monster, after the things he'd done to me, after what he'd nearly tried to do to his brother?

I was still sitting on the floor in the same cross-legged position when Jeff came in and found me the next morning.

(2:37 AM)

(Matt's POV)

_I was so fucking close!_ Matt thought angrily in his head as he slammed the door shut to his car with enough force to nearly shatter the window of his car. It did nothing to quell his temper, though, and he stormed into his house, slamming the front door as well.

_Krys has a stronger will than I thought…_ he thought, once he'd managed to calm himself down enough to think rationally once more. He fixed himself a drink and then parked himself on his sofa, taking a deep swig as he gathered his thoughts.

"Jeff has his claws in her deeper than I thought," he mused out loud. "But it doesn't matter. She can resist me all she wants, but soon, it won't even matter. I've already started to plant the seeds of doubt, and in time, you won't even factor into our lives anymore, little brother."

Finishing his drink, he fished his cell phone out of his jeans pocket and dialed a number. When the person on the other line picked up, Matt smiled. "Hey Adam, sorry to call so late, but remember that storyline I suggested to you and Paul about Jeff getting a main event push about a month or two back? What did he think about it? ...He loved it? Great. I think you guys should run with it as soon as possible. Thanks, man, I owe you one. Great, thanks again; later."

Ending the call, Matt then sat back and smirked, satisfied with his progress. _Game on, gorgeous._


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten:**

(Thursday Morning, 9:03 AM EST)

(Krys' POV)

Jeff's looking at me funny again. He's been doing it for quite some time. Most of the time, I would ignore it, but now he's been doing it in front of my girls, and it's been bugging the living piss out of me.

The first time he'd looked at me like that had been Tuesday morning, when he'd walked into the house to surprise me and the girls and found me curled up on the floor in the living room. Apparently I'd been in some sort of trance, and he'd been scared that I'd gone into shock.

Well, he wasn't that far off from the truth.

It had taken me a while once I had snapped out of it, but I managed to convince him not to call a doctor and have people in white coats come to take me away to a padded cell. That had been when those funny looks started.

After dropping the girls off at school for the morning, with the promise that Gil was going to pick them up and spend the night at his house, Jeff turned the car around and pulled off, and just drove.

I had no clue where we were, until we were in the middle of the woods near their property.

He climbed out of the truck, and then made his way around to my side to open the door and help me out. As soon as my feet hit the ground, a gust of cold air blew right up and smacked me across the face, and suddenly I was wishing I had decided to wear more than a skimpy T-shirt and jeans in the chill of the early morning. I looked at Jeff curiously, as he stuck his hands in his pockets and kicked at the grass.

"Jeff—" I start to say, but he cuts me off.

"Will you walk with me?" he asks quietly, holding his hand out to me. I accept his hand, and we begin to walk into the forest. Soon, we are surrounded by nothing but the trees and the foliage around us, even the morning sun blocked out by the lush green prison. I stick close to Jeff, rubbing my arms to ward off the chill.

Just then, we get to a clearing, and standing in front of us, still imposing even though it hadn't been used in years, was the ring that Matt and Jeff had set up and used as children to train themselves how to wrestle. The ring ropes were a little saggy due to lack of use and the elements bearing down on it over the years, but overall, it still looked to be in good use. I came to a stop behind Jeff, and he turned around slowly, wrapping his arms around my waist, lifting me up to sit on the ring apron, then placed himself between my legs so that I had no choice but to look at him.

"Krys, you haven't been yourself lately," he started off slowly, but paused when I gave a huge sigh.

"I knew this was coming," I said back quietly. When he looked at me, I shook my head and said, "Jeff…Matt's been playing some sort of…game with me, and it's been fucking with my head more and more over this last month. I can't explain it, but…you know how things were the last time Matt and I were together. I didn't want to be with him again, but for some reason, he has this…hold over me, and even though you're so sweet and amazing and everything that I could've ever ask for in a soul mate, I can't stop myself from giving in to him whenever he tries something on me. It literally takes every single fucking inch of willpower in my body and my love for you to just push him away from me or off of me." When Jeff went to say something, I look up at him, and something about the haunted look in my eyes stopped Jeff dead. "I don't want to go back to how I was before. Please, Jeff, don't let him get to me. Please."

The next thing I knew, Jeff's arms were wrapped tightly around me, and he was stroking my head as I sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder. All those feelings of helplessness and despair came rushing back to me as suddenly as a slap to the face, and I clung to Jeff desperately, not wanting to have myself sink even deeper into the black hole that had been my life only a few short years ago.

I went back to it twice. I _refuse_ to go back again.

Again, before I knew what was happening, I was pulling at Jeff's pants, pushing them down his waist, and we were tearing at each other's clothing, our mouths intertwined in a passion-filled kiss that finally filled me with something that could fight away the hold that Matt was trying to put over me again.

His cock sprang free and he pushed inside me, and I moaned through my gritted teeth. It felt so good to feel something again, after everything that Matt had put me through. I remember it had been just like this when he first released me from Matt's control; feeling those first few waves of bliss felt like the sweetest ambrosia. I knew that Jeff had loved me, but I hadn't known that he could have liberated me the way he had, in so many ways.

We tumbled down into the grass, and I straddled Jeff and began to ride him. Every time I rose and fell, taking him inside me felt like I was being born again. Pure bliss. I could feel Jeff's hands on my hips the entire time, and my own hands sought out his. He twined our hands together and continued to thrust upwards into me, moaning my name as we drove one another closer and closer to that high that only we can take each other to.

As I feel the first waves of climax overcoming me, I leaned in over Jeff, looking him dead in the eyes, burning him right to his very soul. He matched me move for move, looking at me as well, marking me, branding me as his and his alone. He flips us over so that he's on top now, and begins to thrust into me like a man possessed, and I cling to him the entire time, desperate for that high. With all my worries about Matt nearly disappearing in the haze of passion, I hear Jeff cursing, his speech nearly inaudible. I close my eyes, then wail as he drives himself into me hard, and we tumble over that peak together, finally reaching that high and then some.

Jeff brushes the sweat-drenched locks of hair out of my eyes, presses his forehead to mine, and kisses my face tenderly. "You're safe with me, Krys," he says, and I wrap my arms around him, closing my eyes contentedly. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"I trust you, Jeff."

You won't break me, Matt.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven:**

(10:30 AM EST)

(Matt's POV)

The sounds of the moans coming from the center of the woods between our homes are nothing compared to the sounds of my gritted teeth as I am forced to sit here and listen to it. Each grunt coming from Jeff as he enters _my_ Krys, each breathy, soft sigh from Krys as she accepts his cock…it's enough to make me sick to my stomach. I had only come out here for a quick walk through the woods, down to our old wrestling ring to clear my head and center myself when I got too stressed out, when I heard them talking, heard their voices carrying out through the trees before I saw them; Jeff's was calm and soothing, while Krys' had that slight note of panic, thick with her tears as she cried, explaining to him that I had some sort of hold over her and that she didn't want to go back to the way things were between me and her. And then, just as I reach the clearing, I see their mouths come crashing together; see Krys tearing at his pants to get them down. The bile had just started rising in my throat, but it came up full force when I watched his thrust into her against the ring apron, then watched them lose control of themselves and tumble down into the grass below them.

I watched her rise above him gracefully, like a slinky cat, watched as she rode him like a champ, watched her grasp at her own breasts before reaching down and locking fingers with my brother. Her pants and moans are intoxicating to me, and I can feel my own cock stirring and springing to life, and I grit my teeth again and turn away. What can I say; my cock has a life of its own as far as my wife is concerned. A lot of guys can't say that about their women.

Just as I'm about to walk away, I can hear her moans grow louder. By that point, I had completely tuned out my brother's reactions; that would have been just plain creepy…as if watching my wife and my brother having sex in the woods wasn't strange enough, I didn't need to go and listen to my brother getting off as well. Turning back, I can see Jeff rising to meet her, and then he flips them over, and begins pummeling into her something fierce. I can hear her moans turn into whimpers and wails, and that was when I turned again, this time finally managing to walk away before I can get any more into the scene than I wanted to.

I'm going through dual emotions; on the one hand, I'm incredibly pissed off that the two of them dared to fuck in our woods, the woods that my brother and I used as our escape from the world, our private sanctuary. On the other hand, I am incredibly turned on by Krys and her…performance, shall we say. I hadn't seen her that enthusiastic about sex since before we had broken up the first time, and it was more than a little arousing to watch her getting off, even if it was with that little shit who dares to call himself my brother.

My hands ball into fists before I even register the anger coursing through my body properly, and before I knew it, I am on the phone, and the sound of Shannon's ringtone is blaring in my ear as I storm into my home. "Come on, you little fuck, pick up the goddamn phone," I find myself growling.

Finally, after what seems like fucking forever, Shannon finally picks up the phone, and I hear his drawl. "Yo, Matt, what's up, man?"

"Get over here, now." My voice is unreasonably brusque, and I can hear the confusion in Shannon's voice as he asks me what the problem was. "The problem is Krys and Jeff, that's what the fucking problem is. Now fucking get over here, before I come get you myself. And trust me, Shannon; you _don't_ want that to happen."

"Okay, okay, Matt, just chill," Shannon said quickly. "I'll be there in a little bit." He hung up, and all I did in the hour or so it took for him to get his scrawny ass down here was pace around my living room like a caged animal, trying to come up with an idea—any idea—that would get Krys away from Jeff.

Suddenly, that's when it hit me. Before I got sickened by the two of them having sex in our woods, I had thought I'd heard something about Krys saying that I had a hold over her, and that she didn't want to go back to the way things were between us. I stopped dead mid-step, and a wide smile crosses my face.

That's it.

Krys was afraid that I was going to use the love that she still had inside her for me against her, and use it to get her back. Well, now that I know that it's still there, that's exactly what I intend to do. And it would all begin to take root once again, as soon as Shannon gets his fucking slow ass over here!

_Where the hell IS he?! _I wonder to myself with a scowl replacing that smile, as I start to pull out my phone to dial him back, fully intending on yelling at him until he gets his wimpy ass over here. Maybe I should smack him around a bit, for making me wait so damn long for him to get over here…

Just as I'm contemplating the best way to torture him, there's a knock at the door, and I walk over to answer it, smiling when I open the door and he finally steps in. The first thing I do when I close the door behind him, is walk up to him and slap him upside the head, making sure it hurt like a bitch as I did it. He yelped and grabbed at his head, looking at me like I'm fucking insane as I move past him into the kitchen to grab a drink.

"Matt, what the hell was that for?" he yelped, still wincing as he massaged the back of his head.

I scoff at him whining like a little bitch, as I pour myself a shot of Zinfandel, and shoot it straight down then go back to pour another, before I answer him. "You made me wait, Shannon, and I don't like to wait."

"Dude, come on, you know how long it takes to get down here from my place," Shannon protested, but quickly closed his mouth when he saw that dark, ugly look on my face again.

"Now that you know that I won't tolerate your bullshit anymore, Shannon, now we can get down to the reason I called you over here. And make sure you pay damn close attention; we have to act quickly, as early as tonight. And I won't take no for an answer."

(5:30 PM)

(Krys' POV)

Now that Jeff and I had cleared the air between us—and got a little bit of action in the process, which is _always_ a good thing, trust me—I was able to relax a little bit more, while Jeff was getting ready to go out to run errands and do whatever else he had planned; now that he was on suspension for supposedly violating WWE's Wellness Policy, he had a bit more time on his hands to spend working out, or relaxing, or whatever else the hell he wanted to do. It also meant that, now that he was going to be home for two months, that I was going to be a tad bit safer from Matt and his machinations and schemes. Matt wouldn't dare pull anything on me if he knew Jeff was going to be around.

Since the girls were all over at their grandfather's house again, and Jeff was off doing whatever in the hell he wanted to do (yeah, can't you tell our relationship rocks?), I decided to make myself a sandwich and flop my ass down on the sofa to watch a little bit of TV. Five minutes later, I turn the TV off, disgusted by the lack of anything entertaining on, and proceed to flop down on the sofa again, this time with a book. I had recently just started getting into some Karen Marie Moning since taking a break from my duties as a wrestler and a musician, so I settled myself down with one of her books, _Beyond the Highland Mist_, and begin to read.

Softly sighing to myself after nearly an hour of reading about sexy Scottish Highlanders, and entertaining the very sexy image of Jeff wearing a kilt and speaking with a deep, husky Scottish brogue, I close my eyes and was just starting to relive that deliciously frantic romp we had in the woods earlier today, when a knock at the door brought me out of my fantasy. Not happy with whatever it was that disturbed me, I frown as I get up, and walk over to the door and throw it open. Much to my annoyance, Shannon is standing there, with that same look of disdain that never fails to appear whenever he and I are in each other's presence.

"Jeff here?" he drawls in that Southern accent that I once loved to hear.

"Nah, he went out to run some errands," I say back, leaning against the door. A brief flicker of annoyance flashes across his face, before he shrugs his shoulders.

"Know where he went?"

"Nope."

"Know when he'll be back?"

"No idea."

He sighs and walks past me into the house, ignoring my sarcastic, "Oh, sure, Shannon; come _right_ on in," and flops down on the sofa. In my irritation, I leave the door open, and stalk over to him. "Shannon, you gotta go."

He smirks up at me, before propping his legs up. "What for? It's not like I'm here for you. Jeff knows how we feel about each other, so trust me, Krys; you have _nothing_ to worry about as far as that's concerned."

"I don't want you here—wait _what_?As far as _what_ is concerned, Shannon?"

"As far as us fucking or anything like that is concerned."

"Oh. Ew. Dude, I wouldn't even think of cheating on Jeff with you, and I'm quite glad you don't feel the need to screw around on Julie with me. But in all seriousness, as pleasant as your company is…" My voice dripped of sarcasm; couldn't you tell? "…you have to go. Now."

"I don't think so, Krys." Shannon crossed his ankles, and I scowled at him. "See, while Jeff's not here, I think you and I need to clear a few things up."

"There's nothing to clear between us," I snap, my brown eyes glaring at him. He simply shrugged his shoulders.

"See, I don't think you deserve someone as good as Jeff, simply because of your track record—"

"Track record, are you kidding me?" I interjected angrily. "I only dated you and Matt—"

"—with Matt and me before him," Shannon continued as if I hadn't spoken. "See, you dated me and cheated on me with Matt, and I'm quite sure you cheated on him with Jeff—"

"—Oh, I'm sorry; I don't think you knew about Matt beating and raping me!" I snapped angrily at him. "Or did Matt leave that out while you were talking to him about me behind my back?"

"—the fact of the matter is that I think you're trash, and you'd be better off far away from Matt and Jeff, for their sakes. I know you and Matt have kids, and as much as I like them, I think they'd be better off far away from you before you taint them and Jeff the way you tainted Matt and you tainted me."

"Oh, Shannon, fuck off with all that bullshit! The only reason you've been this bitter was because I never opened my legs for you! I knew back then you were a little conniving piece of shit, and you kept pressuring me to sleep with you, and when I didn't, you went out and cheated! And now you can't stand the fact that I'm happy!"

"Hey, what's going on?" came another voice, and a shiver of fear comes through me. I don't even want to turn around, but as soon as I do, that shiver returns full force. Matt is standing in our doorway, a look of confusion on his face. "I could hear you guys yelling all the way clear through the woods. What's up?"

"Shannon's inviting himself into Jeff's house and then thinks he can talk shit about me," I snarl, giving Shannon a look that would curdle milk. I hoped it would kill him, the little bastard.

Shannon scowled up at me from where he sat on the sofa. "Jeff wasn't here, so Krys and I had a little heart-to-heart about you guys and the kids."

"Bullshit, you said that Matt and Jeff and my kids would be better off without me in their lives!"

"Krys, it's not my fault you're paranoid and keep causing trouble and drama wherever you go, or who you end up with. I mean after all, you did nothing but cause trouble for the three of us ever since I introduced you to the guys."

"Oh, yes, Shannon," I sneered, "it's all my fault. Let's just completely look over the fact that you were sleeping with ring rats and sluts of all shapes and sizes before I even found out about that one rat that was in our locker room while I was playing cards with the APA. Let's just completely ignore that part!"

"I'm not the one who got revenge by whoring myself out like some kind of cheap little skank," Shannon shot back. "You know what, it's a great thing you slept with Matt when you did. In fact, you deserved everything you got when he started slapping your ass around!"

At that, I stopped dead, the tears springing to my eyes immediately. It had been quite some time since Shannon had ever made me cry, and the last time he had, it had been the night he caught me and Matt in bed together, and he had called me a slut then, too. But the fact that he said that I had gotten what I deserved…

"That's enough, Shannon," Matt said, and even he sounded angry. "You need to go, now. And don't come back unless Jeff or I are here. I don't want you around Krys anymore, and I damn sure don't want you around my girls, talking about their mother like that. Get out."

"Whatever," Shannon muttered, getting up and heading for the door. Before he left out, however, he paused and turned back to face me. "Don't you want an apology for hurting poor little Kryssie's feelings first?" he asked sarcastically with a sneer.

"Shannon, get the _hell_ out of here now!" Matt snarled, taking a dangerous step towards, Shannon, who apparently took the hint and got the hell out of Jeff's house and began heading across the farm to Matt's place.

Leaving me alone with Matt.

No matter how horrible a piece of shit he is to me, I definitely would have preferred Shannon's presence than Matt's right now. Especially since I finally confessed to Jeff that I was sure that I hadn't completely escaped Matt's hold over me. I honestly do not want to go back to being his little pawn, his to do with however he pleased, and his to fuck and beat at his leisure.

I turn my back to him and begin to walk away, the tears that Shannon's comments had caused already beginning to fall, but Matt takes a hold of my wrist. "Krys, wait, look, forget about Shannon," he started to say, but I cut him off.

"Forget it, it's nothing."

"Look, I know you heard that last part he said about deserving everything you got, but…he's an asshole, Krys, that's all. He's a bitter asshole, who's still pissed off about you being happy when he still hasn't gotten over you. You didn't deserve anything that I did to you, we both know that."

"I'm not even paying attention to Shannon right now, Matt…" I try to argue, but of course, Matt knows me better than that.

"Yeah right," he scoffed, slowly coming around to face me, one hand still gently holding my wrist. "You need to get out of here for a little while, to take your mind off of Shannon. How about I take you to dinner or something?"

"What-? No, that's cool, Matt. I'm not hungry."

"Well, how about I take you out to a club or something? You really shouldn't stay locked up in here after what Shannon said. It's not healthy."

I try to mount some sort of protest, but as is always the case, Matt knows me better than I know myself, and so I finally give in, much to his happiness. The music probably would liven me up, anyway.

Grabbing my jacket and tossing it around my shoulders, as well as grabbing my wallet with my money and ID and everything inside it, and follow him out the door for some much-needed unwinding.


End file.
